Saturday, August 4, 2007

NOT LARRY THE HOSTLER, BUT A PART-TIME WORKER ...

Get your facts straight! 25 dollars an hour was several years ago and Aug.1 you'll need to add another dollar to the figure. Yes another annual raise as provided by our contract negotiated by the Teamsters union. We receive a negotiated raise each year. Oh by the way how much do you pay for your health care insurance? Is that just for you? Hmmm what does it cost you a month for your entire family? Wow....I've never paid a penny for mine or my family's health insurance. Even as a part-timer I have enjoyed the same great health care insurance as well as vision and dental coverage at no cost as negotiated by our union my family enjoys the same coverage as I at no cost to me. After speaking with a FedEx Express employee I was led to believe by him my insurance was also much more comprehensive as well as better with similar co-pays. Do you have pension fund? Oh you have to be full-time to receive that. I'm glad the time I spent part-time included 2 for 1 pension credits in fact it also provided paid holidays and vacations. With my total company time now at 16 years do you think 5 weeks and 3 days paid vacation time is good? It will be nice when I pick another week at 20 years and again at 25. Oh yea the 8 paid holidays are nice too.

10 comments:

PART-TIME.. (continued)
said...

Seriously if unionization wasn't in your best interest providing you a voice at your company why would Fred Smith and FedEx management care if you had union representation? Why would he make statements publicly he's not going to negotiate with any union? Did you know FedEx management is actually taught "union avoidance" classes designed to provide insight to management on how to address hourly employees questions concerning unions? why does Russ have meetings in the mornings at the annex with his bright managers? so that no one see's other faces from diffrent termianls,(right Mr. Xman J.H) Don't kid yourself the insight is pro company and anti unionized employee. Ask a question about unions sometime and listen carefully and objectively to see if the answer is returned with a negative spin toward unions and followed with FedEx's ability to protect and provide for you. I'm sure no one will have a clue what your talking about if you asked them specifically about their training. However FedEx Human Resources management provides it's operations management with on-the-job training dubbed "union avoidance" and it's mandatory training for management. Now think about that......why does FedEx NOT want a union to represent it's hourly employees? Is it better hourly pay? better, no cost health benefits? more true full-time jobs? better pensions that FedEx can't constantly change stating 'this is better for our employees'...face it companies rarely change anything unless it helps their bottom-line? Let me tell you what the truth is. FedEx management knows unions will among other things empower the hourly employees and raise their salaries to levels operational management earn and beyond in some cases. Yes, I said beyond and combine that to the fact to offset the better wages and benefits of it's hourly employees as well as a stealthier business model would mean management positions would be cut, more work will be expected of fewer management personnel and the stress of their job will be increased as corporate 'bean counters' increased the pressure for productivity on fewer management personnel with already increased responsibilities. Did someone say STRESS? As management at FedEx is fully aware of it would likewise mean fewer opportunities for their personal advancement in terms of salary, bonuses and career opportunities. These would be significant direct results affecting FedEx management particularly at entry and operational levels. Therefore it's clear to see why your management willfully misleads hourly employees and promotes dissension, fear and anti union propaganda. If your hourly at FedEx you could seriously benefit from union representation. Oh by the way union dues are monthly expense that would easily be paid for with one or two days of pay raise you'd receive from your first contract or you could pay them with the health insurance you already pay for and have money left over. On average your union dues would be 2 and 1/2 times your hourly rate one time a month. For example 18 dollars an hour would equal 45 dollars a month for union dues and it's tax deductible too. Do the math of what you pay for health insurance or the difference in your current pay rate verses if you were making even remotely what a UPS employee in the same job does. These are simply the facts for the objective mind of a FedEx employee to consider. I'm on your side and hope you win a union contract someday. It will be a day for you and your family to finally get the respect, compensation and the full range of strong benefits you rightfully deserve as the hourly employee of a highly successful company your a intricate part of building. Talk to your friends and share with them the benefits of unionization.

One last thought for you to consider. You know the increased 'chatter' our Homeland security often speaks of in terms of terror? Increased 'chatter' at FedEx or more specifically talk of unionization at FedEx is terror to management's ears. This 'good chatter' needs to become the norm at FedEx and will be the start of solidarity among hourly employees. Seek knowledge of the benefits of unionization and solidarity from sources other than management such as Teamsters.org so you may hear truths that are not developed in back rooms with those who ultimately have their interests and not yours in mind.

FedEx is the Wal-Mart of the package delivery industry. Unlike UPS, where workers have a collective bargaining agreement that affords them health care, decent wages and pensions, FedEx pretty much smacks people down with bottom-of-the-barrel benefits. So, keep that in mind when you're running around trying to figure out how to ship an overnight shipment.

I work at Fedex and I've been thinkig of leaving this hell hole,if we don't organize now and join the Teamsters there wont be any (HOPE). I've been there for 5+ years. You are expected to do the work of 2 people, if not 3.Raises are now once a year, as opposed to twice a year as was the case a few years back.My senior manager is an ego-maniac.I strongly advise against taking a Fedex courier position......unless you love abuse day in and day out.

Hey JK Fedex is a hell hole,with out a union It's a SOULLESS corporation; A THANKLESS company. Thank God I left that HELL HOLE. Do yourself a favor, get a real job. Trust me on this.Either you guys join the Teamsters or find yourself a job that has a union.

It's one thing for jobs to be available to senior citizens if they want to work in their golden years but it's a completely different story if one is forced to work beyond retirement age simply to be able to survive! If the above FedEx levels of pension funding do not change, ask yourself what you'll be doing in your golden years? Will you be doing that traveling you've always dreamed of? Will you be retiring to your dream home in warmer climes? Will you be able to help your children by caring for your grandchildren after school? Or will you spend your last precious years of life working as a doorman, night watchman or hamburger flipper just to keep from having to eat Alpo? What level of human dignity does FedEx's pension plan provide for those who invest huge chunks of their lives in the company? The fact that FedEx provides pensions that are less than half of what UPS provides in two of the above scenarios, slightly more than half in one of the remaining scenarios and a full 33% less in the best case scenario is, at least in my not-so-humble opinion, utterly reprehensible!

Did You Know?***that FedEx policy allows managers to terminate your employment for any three reminder letters in your file regardless of whether they are for the same performance issue or not?

***that FedEx policy permits managers to go back as far as 18 months into your file to use reminder letters against you even if their so-called 12 month "active" status has expired? This means that FedEx management can use letters in your file that are twice as old as letters retained in the files of UPS employees to terminate you!

***that FedEx's policy manual actually encourages managers to review your entire history with the company each time he or she contemplates taking disciplinary action against you?

***that as an "at will" employee, FedEx is in no way required to follow any of its policies in the so-called "PEOPLE Manual" and that you can be fired at any time, for any reason without any justification whatsoever?

***that FedEx management can invest your pension fund any way it sees fit without anyone with your interests in mind to serve as a watchdog? Remember Zapmail, the station processors and FedEx's European misdeployment? Will the money be there when you need it?

We all need a union to protect us from things many of us don't even realize are threatening us. Even if you are a model employee who is utterly beloved by your manager, all it takes is a few twists of fate at FedEx for you to find your head on the chopping block! Become seriously ill, have your kids get sick, the car falls apart, someone cuts you off in traffic when you're in your FedEx vehicle, you say the wrong thing to a fellow employee when he or she is having a bad day, choke up on a test because you're nervous, tired or preoccupied with a serious personal problem, an irate customer files a complaint about you and the next thing you know, you've got three letters in your file and are on your way to the unemployment lines! Take into consideration that just a few of these things can happen over an 18 month span and you'll still find yourself looking for a new job!

Some people have been talking about the new terminal in Devore and are wondering how it is going to affect our jobs at the Fontana Terminal.They said that most of the work is going to Devore and that Fontana will still have enough work to keep open.I would like to know if I am still going get to my full time hours. Or will I have to become a part timer.Because there’s not enough work to go around right now. Managers have mentioned that the new terminal is big enough to fit both Whittier and Fontana hubs!Therefore, if Fontana would close in six months or a year from then, will I still have a job? Or will I be able to move with my position?

NOT LARRY THE HOSTLER,BUT A PART TIME WORKER ALSO A PROUD SON OF A TEAMSTER
said...

Let me say one thing Mr John Hinkley, when you say that we are not doing secret meeting as Fedex management,and if you are reading this website, you can see that the supporters of the Teamsters always blog their union meeting with no secret either.

The problem is we don't have the same kind of money as corporations (read advertisers). PR does little good if you cannot get your message on the airwaves and in the print media. This is why we are taking to the blogosphere, to YouTube, to MySpace and getting our future members motivated to do the same. You're right we have to re-educate the American public about unions, because quite frankly no one else will do it.